Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-09-30


had the least knowledge, and which
she denied all intimacy with in her
sane moments, and she was iii fact
possessed with the spirit Of Portuguese
Joe" She claimed this afterwards, and
| the demoniac hate she exhibited, so UNI
like her usual gentle manner, made it
plain that there was something pos
sessed' her. 1t was painful scene. i
was there for two hours aiding with all
my power to control her Then she be-
came calm, RATIONAL but sobbed most
desperately.
81 have killed Harry! l have killed
! Harry!" she cried.
Tho lad was their only child, frank,
brave boy Of - years. q general favor
| lite, and one Of my brightest scholars
He had not been home since school on
| that evening, but nothing had been
thought of ii, as the heavy storm would
have been considered sufficient excuse
for him remaining all night with friends
or relatives in the town.
But this terror Of tho poor mother
was so real that she could not be pur-
suadcd out OF it. The man Joe had
always been her chief fear and detcsta-
ton, which she could not conceal when
within sight of him. The pirate had
long noticed this, and while he resented
it by look and act, yet he seemed to
take malignant pleasure in tormenting
her by seeking opportunities of cross
ing her path or presenting himself to
her sight.
Now with many sobs and breaks she
protested that Joe's spirit had entered
into her, and under its influence she had
killed her son. This was in general
terms, and the recital brought on an
other paroxvsm more violent than the
first.
Her rawlings were all in foreign
| tongue and we could not understand
them.
The supply Of sedative medicines al
ways kept for her use in the house be-
came exhausted. and just about day
light I volunteered to go into the town
for more. To walk mile, wake mp
the druggist, wait for the preparation
and walk back, took considerable time.
When [ reached the house the servant
was evidently asleep, and in answer to
my repeated knocks my friend had to
leave his wife's bedside for moment
and descend to give me entrance.
He reported the patient as still very
violent, and returned upstairs. In a
second I heard his voice calling me in
tones Of agony. I rushed to the cham
Der; the bed was empty, the window
open. I looked out; through the early
sunlight l. could SEQ slight, white
figure speeding toward the mountain.
L leaped to the ground, my friend fol-
lowing, and together we fastened with
all our running powers after the flee
ing woman. She made direct for
a semi-clearing, much frequented
by the young folks on account
of the wild berries growing there.
| Without q moments hesitation she
pushed her way into a thicket, stopped,
and picked up Harry's cap and few
school-books, bound with strap.
The strangeness Of this arrested our
action, and we did not accost her or
interfere; she seemed to know so per-
fectly what she wished to do, so strong
to do it, and was so calm with q quiet
of desperation. We did not try to
hide from her, only followed; and she
noticed us not in The least.
Cap and books in hand, she turned
her face and flying feet in the direction
of the hermits den. We hurried after
| as fast as we could run.
We saw her push aside the tangled
brush that hid the opening and enter
boldly i'll. We followed aud arrived in
time to see, by the struggling sunlight
that forced its way into the gloom,
the white-robed mother on her
knees in one far corner, tearing away,
throwing away, with frantic force and
strength, pile Of loose rock that lay
there. SO rapidly did she do this that
by the time we reached her and
looked down for the cause OF
her action she had already half I'M
covered and had in her arms the body
of her boy, and on his neck were the
livid ten finger marks left by the MUIR
| derous hands of the pirate.
The stricken father led his poor
wife home. I carried the little dead
boy. She never rallied, never could
explain, and died in week.
Now, what was all this? My theory
of the murder is that Joe, in fit OF
more than usual devilment, had met
the little boy, and, to be revenged for
the mothers disdain, deliberately
strangled him and then concealed his
body in the den. This is human and
rational reasoning.
But how did the mother know SC
surely OF the facts? How did she &C
so directly, SO unerringly to the fatal